Swivel coupling



May 19, 1931.

' Original Filed Aug. 7, 1924 H. w. SHONNARD SWIVEL COUPLING IN VEN TOR.

Patented May 19, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAROLD w. srrommnn, orurrnn MONTGLAIZR, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR. 'ro ELEVATOR surrmss COMPANY,INC, A CORPORATION on NEW YORK SWIVEL COUPLING Original applicationfiled August 7, 1924, Serial No. 730,765. Divided and this applicationfiled August 21, i

1928. Serial No. 301,042.

M invention relates to swivel couplingsand is particularly adapted to beused in connecting a fluid pressure line on an elevator 10 gines tooperate gates on the car or at landings must be supplied with acompressed fluid, usually air, to operate the engines. The compressedfluid is ordinarily supplied through a flexible hose having one end con-15 nected to a source of compressed fluid in the shaft and the other endconnected to a pressure line'on the car. to this arrangement has beenthat the hose, especially when new, has a marked tendency to kink andthrash around as the elevator travels up and down the shaftway.Frequently the kinked hose catches on some projection or drops over oneof the beams between the shaftway of its car and that of the next car,in either case being severed by movement of its own car or sheared offby a passing car. Such an accident not only involves the expense of anew hose, but also the laying up of the car while the repair is beingmade, so that the damage from this cause is a serious matter.

,Many attempts have been made to overcome this condition by building ahose which would not kink. Trials have been made of special rubbercompositions, special weaves of textile fabric, and combinations ofrubber and fabric, but no solution of the problem resulted as the hosestill kinked enough to cause accidents. In installing a hoseon a car,the hose connections to the car and in the shaft are adjusted until thekinking is reduced to a minimum, which requires much labor and manytrial trips of the car with consequent trouble and expense, but even 5then the hose is likely to be lost, as it has proved impossible to takethe kink out thor-' oughly except by long use.

My invention solves this problem of con nection of the fluid pressureline on an eleso vator to the source of pressure in the shaft- A seriousdrawback way, by the provision of a swivel connection in combinationwith any desired type of flexible hose. The connection comprises tworelatively movable members so freely connected as to yield to, a twistwhich is insuflicient to kink the hose. Thus, any hose may be usedregardless of tendency to kink. The connecting members are also sonearly pressure-tight that there is no inaterial loss of pressure fluid.I

By the use of my invention, the installation of a hose between anelevator car and a shaft pipe is greatly simplified, since one end ofthe hose may be clamped to the pipe and the other to the movable memberof the swivel coupling, the base of which is preferably secured directlyto the car. All the labor and expense of hose adjustment is thusavoided, as well as forced idleness of thecar due to broken hose. 7

The structure which I employ as a pressure-tight swivel coupling is alsouseful wherever a stufling box is required, since it may be modifiedwithout departing from the scope of the invention to provide a nearlyfrictionless, pressure-tight joint between any member mounted to sliderelatively to another member, whether the movement is rotary orreciprocatory.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of an elevator car withhose connected, according to my invention; and

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the invention embodied in a swivelcoupling.

In Figure'l an elevator car 3 which may be hoisted by the cable 4 has agate 5 operated by a fluid pressure engine 6. This engine is suppliedwith power through pipe 7 which is connected to one end of a flexiblehose 8 by a swivel coupling comprising a tubular casing 9 and a hollowspindle 10. The other end of the hose is connected to a pipe 11 at aconvenient point in the shaftway, which forms part of a pressure lineleading from a source of fluid pressure, such as an air tank.

The flexible connection selected for a detailed description is intendedto be carried on the bottom of an elevator car, and consists, as shownin Figure 2, of the tubular casing 9 and thehollow spindle mounted forrotation within the casing. In casting the casing I preferably provide aflange 12 as a supporting base. For ease in casting and assembling theparts, the upper end of the casing may be closed by a screw-threadedplug 13, while an outlet 14 may receive the car pipe 7 to which pressureis supplied from the hose clamped to the lower end of spindle 10. Thespindle must be mounted for rotation in the casing with as littlefriction as possible, so that any torsional stress arising in the hosewhich might cause a kink will instead be converted into rotation of thespindle to relieve the stress. I therefore preferably employ two radialthrust ball bearings, one near the top of the spindle and the other nearthe lower end of the casing. The upper bearing consists of an inner race15 fitting snugly about the spindle and having a thrust collar 16 heldagainst it by the end of the spindle which is riveted over at 17 Balls18 carry the inner race on an outer race 19 which is supported in thecasing as by a shoulder 20. The lower bearing is of similar constructionwith an inner race 21 held on the spindle by a nut 22 and lock nut 23.This bearing arrangement permits the spindle to carry the weight of thehose and yet to rotate in response to very small twisting force.

To provide a pressure-tight joint between the casing and spindle, myinvention employs a tapered chamber, which in the present instance isformed just below the upper hearing by the converging of the casingwalls at 24 to a reduced neck portion 25 which is carefully machined toprovide a sli ht clearance for the likewise machined portion 26 of thespindle. In practice I have found that a clearance in the neighborhoodof .005 of an inch works satisfactorily and may be produced withoutexcessive expense in machining the parts. The tapered chamber 27 isfilled with a very heavy lubricant, preferabl Albany? grease, which isof such heavy bo y as to form in effect a viscosity intensifying piston.The clearance between thrust collar 16 and the interior of the casingand between the balls of the bearing is sufiicient to expose the up erclosed end of the casing. The area of the arge end 28 of the piston ismany times greater than that of the smaller end 29 at the bottom of thetapered chamber, so that lubricant is much denser between the spindleand easing at said lower end.

As a result of the conical shape of the chamber a small movement of theupper sur face of the grease piston would result in a very much greatermovement of the lower surface between the spindle and the casing. Thus,a comparatively large pressure on the top of the conical piston would berequired to overcome a relatively small viscosity or resistance todeformation at the lower'end.

In practice I have found that line pressures up to sixty pounds persquare inch cannot penetrate the lubricant piston when the area of itslarger end is between 100 and 200 times as great as that of theclearance space between the spindle and casing at the lower end of thetapered chamber. The pressure on the grease at the clearance requires apositive means to hold back such of the lubricant which would otherwiseslowly ooze through the clearance, thus causing a loss of grease and anultimate breaking of the seal. I have found that this may beaccomplished without affecting the swiveling tendency by employing as apacking a cupped washer 32 having a lip 34 which may be compressedagainst a shoulder on the casing by a gland nut 33.

Preferably I bevel the upper edge of the washer, as at 35, so thatgrease coming from the clearance space will tend to force the packingtightly against the spindle. spindle may also advantageously be providedwith grooves 30 to aid in retainingl the grease.

While the invention has been escribed in connection with a swivelcoupling particularly adapted for'use in connecting an air hose to anelevator car, the tapered viscosity intensifying chamber and packingwasher may also be used to make a pressure-tight joint wherever astufiing box is necessary, since it is obviously unimportant whether theinner movablemember is a hollow spindle or a solid rod, and the sealingeffect created by the tapered chamber is the same whether theinner/member is mounted to reciprocate relative to the casing or torotate relative thereto, as in the construction above de-.

scribed. In cases of reciprocatory movement it may be desirableto'provide two tapered chambers facing in opposite directions withauxiliary pressure acting on the larger ends of the pressureintensifying lubricant. pistons. Other modifications within the spiritof the invention will be suggested to. those skilled in the art by theforegoing description.

Claims:

1.-'In combination, a'tubular casing connected to a pressure line, amember within said casing having a cylindrical outer sur- The 1 face, amass of lubricating material between the member and the casing havingone end exposed to the line pressure, said casing being wider at saidend than at the opposite end whereby said mass of lubricating materialis adapted to multiply the resistance to. deformation of the lubricantat the end opposite to that exposed to the line pressure, and a packingbetween the member and the casing to prevent the escape of compressedlubricant.

2. In combination, a tubular casing connectable with a pressure line, aspindle mounted for rotation within the casing, the inner wall of thecasing converging from near the pressure line connection until it justclears the spindle, the tapered chamber thus formed i containinglubricant sufiiciently solid to intensify the line pressure, a cuppedpacking washer on the spindle beyond the clearance, and a gland memberto hold the washer against the casing to prevent escape of thelubricant.

3. In combination, a tubular casing closed at one end having a reducedneck portion intermdiate its ends, a hollow spindle extending into thecasing with a very small clearance at the neck, the outer wall of thespindle and the inner wall of the casin diverging on one side of theneck towards t e closed end of the casing to form a tapered greasechamber whose larger end is in communication with the open inner end ofthe spindle, a packing chamber between the spindle and easing on theother side of the neck, a gland to'hold packing in the chamber, andbearings to support the spindle for movement relative to the casing.

4. A coupling comprising a vertically moving but non-rotatable tubularcasing, a spindle swiveled in said casing, adapted to be rigidlyconnected to a flexible compressed air conducting hose whereby theslightest torsional strain set up in said hose by the propelled aircauses rotation of said spindle and is thus absorbed before any kinkingof the hose can occur, and means for preventing the loss of anyappreciable amount of pressure as the air passes through said coupling,

comprising a conical chamber exposed to the full pressure of thepropelled air at its widest portion and having its narrowest portionadjacent the lower end of said spindle.

Signed at Hoboken, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, this20th day of August, A. D. 1928.

' HAROLD W. SHQNNARD.

